dogger69

Did anything change because of the hound hunting reform study? I don't believe it amounted to anything at all. Seems like business as usual to me!

SwampCollie

Plenty has changed. What it has done is brought out the anti-hunters with bells and feathers (artifical of course) on looking for a good way to end hound hunting.

And what have they found.... well... I found this on the HSUS website....


You would have thought that with this study, and thats all it was, a study with recommendations that the board will act on in the coming legislative session, that the dog men would have cleaned up their mess..... but in my opinion, I think it has just made a bunch of them leery of everybody, and I have seen and heard about more dogs running and INTENTIONALLY RUNNING at that on saturdays during bow season than any other year I can recall. The attitude is, "The bow hunters can hunt on Monday, but this is saturday and we are running dogs." Well... that attitude is probably going to be the end of it for all of us.

Here is what the HSUS thinks......



Virginia: Hounded to Death

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This dog was emaciated andmissing an ear and much of his fur when an HSUS supporter took him in, named him "Chase" and got him vet care.[/align]
The practice of hound hunting—using packs of dogs, some equipped with radio transmitters—to chase and hunt deer, bears and other wildlife has become an increasingly controversial and hotly-debated issue in many areas, particularly in Virginia. And rightly so.
After receiving hundreds of complaints from landowners, animal advocates and even hunters, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) created a Stakeholder Advisory Committee to analyze the situation and develop a solution. Unfortunately, half the committee is composed of hound hunters and its proposed recommendations are mainly voluntary, unenforceable, heavily biased in favor of hunting with packs of dogs, and fail to address the serious animal welfare issues involved.
HSUS members submitted more than two thousand comments to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the VDGIF, condemning the current regulations which allow for the gross mistreatment of both hounds and wildlife. The HSUS also submitted extensive comments.
Dozens of HSUS members report hound hunters hunting illegally on their property, damaging their property and crops, and clearing roads on their land posted with no hunting signs. Packs of hunting dogs—sometimes containing 40 or more hounds—terrorize landowners in and out of legal hunting season at all hours of the day and night, harassing livestock, wildlife and pets. When confronted, some hound hunters have become verbally abusive.
Our members are most concerned about the treatment of thedogs used for hunting. In particular, hunters routinely abandon their dogs when they fail to perform well, become old, or sometimes even if they become pregnant, leaving them to starve, be hit by cars, be picked up by a kind-hearted neighbor, or fill up local animal shelters. Hound hunters often fail to provide proper veterinary care, treat wounds or vaccinate their dogs. Hounds are most commonly severely emaciated and are kept in small kennels all but a few weeks a year.
Our members and supporters in Virginia provide shocking details of their experiences.

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"Emaciated dogs come onto my property, dogs with ribs sticking out so far they collapse-gasping for air; some have even died here...I pull dead or dying dogs off the roads—this year alone I removed nine, last year 14."
"I am a volunteer with a humane society and more than 50 percentof our intake results from irresponsible owners of hunting dogs. They release old, diseased or poor performing animals into the wild...Over 80 percent are heartworm positive."
"Many of the dogs that I see running through fields are emaciated, have untreated wounds and their living conditions are horrible...When they do not perform well...they are shot. If they go missing, the hunters rarely care."
"I rescued a hunting dog that came into my yard five years ago. I called the owner and he said 'Aw...she'll be alright. Just leave her.' I told him I would hold her until he picked her up and he never came to get her."
"The hounds all have been undernourished and extremely skinny, some downright emaciated, with their bones sticking out at hips, ribs, chest, etc."
"Their poor feet are cut and bruised from running through brambles."
"The majority of them do not feed the dogs adequately so that they are hunting because they are starving. They make no real effort to find the dogs but rely on the animal shelter to pick them up or someone (like me) to find them...I just adopted a very old female beagle from the shelter. She had a hunter's ID on her collar but, when the shelter called him, he said she was not his. In reality, she wasn't useful to him any more so he didn't care what happened to her."
"Hunting dogs often show up on my doorstep. They are malnourished, scared and covered with ticks and fleas!"
"Following deer season I routinely see starving deer dogs by the side of the road and often DEAD deer dogs IN the road."
"My Maggie, a foxhound, was left to die on a busy interstate outside of Petersburg...She was so emaciated that you could count each of her bones. Years later, when she needed x-rays the veterinarian said, 'You do know she's been shot.'...He then produced the films and showed me (to my horror) that pellets were throughout her entire body, from skull to tail! Too many to even count."
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Dogs are often injured during the chase as well, particularly during bear hunts. Some bears do not meekly scamper away but turn and fight, and reports of bears injuring or killing one or all of the dogs are not uncommon.
Hunting with packs of dogsis particularly inhumane for wildlife as well. Animals are often run repeatedly until the point of exhaustion, and if the dogs reach their quarry before the hunter does, they can tear apart the animal. According to one hunter who contacted The HSUS, "Two years ago I found two black bear cubs that had been killed. Both weighed approximately 20 to 30 pounds...The cub looked to have been chewed up pretty badly by the dogs and had apparently been hit with a rock, likely to kill the cub after the dogs had seriously wounded it."
It is clear that Virginia needs a sound solution to the problem of hunting with packs of dogs, one that recognizes the abundant problems associated with the welfare of the dogs, the treatment of wildlife and respect for others' property rights.
What You Can Do
[ul][*]Sendyourcomments to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, letting them know that hound hunting is cruel to both hounds and wildlife. [/ul]

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Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
4010 West Broad Street
P.O. Box 11104
Richmond, VA 23230
[email protected]
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Attend the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' Board Meeting, which will focus on the proposed recommendationsfor regulations about hound hunting in Virginia. Demand that the VDGIF take animal welfare seriously.
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Thursday, October 23, 2008
9 a.m.
4000 W. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23230
[/blockquote][*]If you live in an area where hound hunting is practiced and need to report a wildlife crime, call: 1-800-237-5712. For non-emergency, 24-hour dispatch call: 804-367-1258.[*]Document the hound hunting you see! Take pictures and videos and send them to us, particularly of abused hunting dogs. You can contact us or receive more information by email at [email protected] or by calling 301-721-6423.[*]Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, informing readers about this issue. Urge the state to take action to stop the inhumane treatment of both hunting dogs and wildlife.
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BOWMANN100

Dose'nt seem to have done much at all, i think it was more to snowball us into thinking they were actually trying to improve the hunts for both parties![>:]

dogger69

I don't know where it all ends, but one thing is for sure, neither side appears to be real happy. I think the dog hunters have won, but can't fully comprehend the victory. The HSUS will always run attack ads; it's how they make money. What bothers me is when other hunters actually believe the stories.

BOWMANN100

well this is one non hound hunter that does not believe that crap!!! I hardly ever see stray dogs around and when I do they are very few hounds, ive seen labs, muts...........that group would love nothing more for all hunting to be stopped! and when they are done with the dog hunters they will turn to all hunters!

bryant1

I wish more hunters thought the way you do- levelheaded so they could see their main goal was to outlaw all hunting. Every sport has it's bad apples, including doghunting.

Nothing change with the hunting hound study either.

timbercruiser

It sounds like the Virginia dog hunters had a chance to compromise, but instead it was their way or no way. It might take another year or so, but they are going to lose in the long run. In Northwest Florida and Alabama, the areas I am familiar with, until about 5 years ago there was dog hunting (and associated problems) all over the place. Laws were passed and timber companies that were tired of the complaints decided they would no longer lease to dog hunting clubs. The no lease part was probably the biggest hit the dog hunters took. I only know of a couple of clubs that still try to dog hunt (other than large state/federal owned lands), and they use small beagles. In Florida you have to register your dogs, and list all the lands you have written permission to hunt. If your dog is caught on land that isn't on record the dog owner has to pay a fine before he gets his dog back. Your dog must have a state issued number on its collar.You can/will receive a fine if you don't have the written permission and registered dogs.

Bywater

Of course there is nothing yet. The Board merely received comments and documents.

Any changes will be hashed out in the GA or through the regulatory process. One thing that may come out of it is a change in seasons/training so that bow hunters may hunt without interruption. I can't imagine that would meet with disapproval. We all deserve equal consideration.

Another thing that is already happening is increased focus by law enforcement on enforcing 18.2-136. The law is not ambiguous, it just needed to be enforced. I hope that provides some relief to any landowners whose property rights are being abused by poachers.

As far as HSUS, how many animals could have been saved with the money they spent on false advertising? Those people make me sick. I could find a photo of any animal in distress and create a whole myth, just like they do.

BOWMANN100

There is not supposed to be a training period for deer dogs at all. I know that some do it, dont really have that problem where I hunt but the dog hunters that train during bow or any other time except dog season are selfish. I personally dont have nor see the problems that some of you may, but would deff. be upset if my hunt was interupted by this method. When dog season comes in it happens about once a week(lol) but cant really say anything about that because deer run and dogs chase no matter how far or where the deer goes, I just bring my shotgun and hope to get a shot(on the deer of course)if they do come around

1shotkill1993

i think its a shame that we can hardly do anything with dogs anymore. my friends dogs have pretty much gone to waste

yall should check this out

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=3127719